iSam's Secret Santa
by StarxBright
Summary: Freddie gets Sam for his Secret Santa at school. He knows he could just get her ham, but he wants it to mean so much more.  3-part AU Sam and Freddie never dated.
1. Chapter 1

**iSam's Secret Santa**

**Part 1 – The Announcement**

"This is dumb," Sam Puckett complained, wiggling in her seat.

Freddie Benson rolled his eyes at the blonde demon sitting next to him in the auditorium. They were waiting for Principal Franklin to make his announcement.

"You shouldn't be complaining," Freddie told her. "This is getting us out of that history test, which I'm sure you _didn't_ study for."

"You know me well, Benson," Sam said, clapping him on the shoulder. Freddie groaned quietly at the familiar swoop in his stomach, unnerved by the implications.

Freddie was falling for Samantha Puckett.

And he didn't like it one bit.

He glanced over at Sam, to see if she had heard his groan, but luckily for him she was texting someone. It was probably Carly, who was sitting a few rows down the bleachers with Wendy.

That was Freddie's favorite part about History. Carly had gone a bit overboard with her schedule, taking Civics instead of basic History. Sam, not wanting to do (or not do) any more work than necessary, had opted to take the standard class. This gave Freddie the opportunity to stare at Sam for a whole fifty-three minutes without having to worry about Carly catching him.

He was a special kind of pathetic.

Finally, Principal Franklin walked onto the stage, and the talking quieted down.

"Hello everyone," he said.

A chorus of "hi Principal Franklin," followed, and he smiled.

"Thank you. So, here's what'd going on. This year we're starting a new annual tradition. I present; the Ridgeway High School Secret Santa!"

The buzz of students talking rose to a roar in seconds. This was more exciting than the lock-in last term.

That thing was fun as always, but relatively uneventful, especially compared to Sam's artistic moment the year before.

Poor, poor Gibby.

Freddie, Brad, and Sam (yes Sam!) had made a moodface app for the Pear Pad. Brad had been the test subject; he felt like making fudge.

No surprise there.

"Quiet down, settle down now," Principal Franklin called, though it had no effect on anyone.

Sam stood up in her seat. "Shut up!" she screeched.

The room quieted immediately.

"Thank you, Miss Puckett."

Sam bowed dramatically. Freddie rolled his eyes again, finding the move adorable despite himself.

"Everyone is going to come up and draw a name from this tub," Franklin said, gesturing to the large, clear bucket behind him.

People instantly rushed to the stage. Sighing, Freddie pushed himself up out of his seat and made to follow them.

Slowly but surely, the crowd thinned. Freddie was able to move forward and pick a slip of paper out of the bucket.

Uninterested, he unfolded the paper and glanced at the name, expecting some stranger who would be happy with an iCarly t-shirt.

Instead, it read Samantha Puckett.

Freddie's mouth fell open in shock.

Only his luck.

**So, what do you guys think of the first chapter? Leave me a review with your thoughts, and look out for part 2!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2 – The Present**

Freddie was panicking.

It shouldn't be this hard to find a present for Sam. There wasn't much that she liked, so it's not like he had a hard choice to make. He could get her a new penny tee, or a giant fork. Or food.

And she might actually leave him alone for a while. Or at least however long it took her to eat. 

Yet here he was, making his fourth trip around the mall, halfway through his second peppy cola, and getting desperate.

It's Sam Freaking Puckett! This shouldn't be so hard!

He pulled out his cell phone, sifting through his contacts and hitting the call button.

"Carly, I need your help," he said the moment she said hello.

"Hi Freddie, how are you?" she asked sarcastically.

Or, as sarcastically as Carly Shay could ever get.

"Just help me!" Freddie whined.

"I don't know what you need help with Freddie. Why don't you start with that?"

"I got Sam for my Secret Santa," he told her, and Carly gasped dramatically.

"_Freddie_! You're not supposed to _tell anybody_!"

Freddie rolled his eyes and took a deep breath so he didn't snap at Carly. He loved the girl (in the totally platonic-sister way) but sometimes she really made him nuts…

"Come on Carly, it's not like I'm the only one who did it. Besides, I'm desperate here. What should I get her?"

"Ham," Carly told him simply. "Can I hang up now? I'm watching Girly Cow."

"You've seen them all!"

"This is the new Christmas movie!" Carly argued.

"But Carly…"

He was interrupted by the dial tone.

Crap. He was screwed.

Giving up for the day, Freddie called his mom to drive him home.

xXxXxXxXx

"Help me."

"No."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Spencer, come on –"

"No!" Spencer stood up from the couch and turned away from the pleading Freddie.

The moment he had gotten home and away from his mother, who had insisted in checking him over for ticks after being out in public, Freddie had gone over to Carly's place. She wasn't there, having gone to a movie with Sam, so it gave Freddie the perfect opportunity to ask Spencer for advice.

Advice he was not in the mood to give, apparently.

"Why not?"

"It's Sam, Freddo. Just get her ham."

Freddie sighed, sinking into the couch. "That's what Carly said. And my mother. And Gibby and Wendy both when I texted them."

"So get her ham."

"I don't want to just get her ham, Spence. She needs to love this present."

Spencer was hopelessly confused. "But Sam loves ham…it's the iCarly password and everything!"

"It just can't be ham, Spencer. Okay?"

Spencer sat back down hesitantly. "You okay Freddo? Why is this so important to you?"

Freddie didn't answer, but the blush that crept over his face was enough for Spencer to figure it out. He jumped to his feet again, eyes wide, pointing a finger at Freddie accusingly.

"You like Sam!" he nearly screamed.

Freddie shushed him harshly. "Do you want the whole apartment building to know?"

Spencer clapped his hands over his mouth. "Sorry," he said, though it was muffled.

"What do I do?" Freddie wailed.

Spencer shrugged. "Have you seen what happened to my past relationships? Yeah, I'm probably not the best person to ask."

Freddie sighed again, getting up off the couch and storming back over to his apartment.

Spencer watched him go in silence. In fact, it was almost ten minutes before he moved at all. Then he glanced around his now empty apartment.

"I want some ham," he decided then, and headed into the kitchen to see if they had any in the fridge.

xXxXxXxXx 

Freddie was lying upside down on his bed, still staring up at the list he had made almost an hour ago. It was of all the things that Sam loved.

It only had three things on it; iCarly, her friends, and ham.

It always came back to ham.

He sat up in bed suddenly, a smile growing on his face.

He knew the perfect thing to get her.

**Reviews? :3**


	3. Chapter 3

**The feedback I've gotten on this story is incredible. I just want to thank all of you who have reviewed, they were amazing to read.**

**Part 3 – The End**

Freddie was feeling pretty much invincible when he walked into the school that morning. Sam's present was tucked safely into his coat pocket, perfectly wrapped and waiting to be given.

The last day of school before Christmas break was always the best. Teachers didn't give any assignments, and the food in the cafeteria was actually good for once.

And of course, the presents.

All around him, strangers were handing over decorated boxes to their Secret Santa. Principal Franklin had given everyone until the end of the day to give the gifts. Freddie was planning on waiting until the very last minute, to avoid as much bodily harm as possible if all didn't go to plan, but apparently the girls had other ideas.

Carly and Sam were on their way over to where Freddie was, taking off his heavy winter coat to put in his locker.

"Hi Freddie!"

"Hey Fredlumps."

You can guess who said what.

"Merry Christmas ladies," Freddie replied as he transferred Sam's present from his coat pocket into his book bag.

"I see you finally found a present, Freddie," Carly said, a knowing smile dancing on her face.

"I did indeed Carly, thanks for noticing." Freddie glared at the small brunette. Could she be any more obvious?

"Whose it for, Benson?" Sam asked suddenly.

Carly decided that would be a good time for her to go.

"I should go find Timmy…give him his…present."

She ran off.

"Who is it for?" Sam asked again.

Freddie pulled the small, square box back out of his book bag. He stared at it for a few moments before extending his arms, offering the blonde the present.

"Merry Christmas Princess Puckett."

Sam hesitated for a second before taking the perfectly wrapped box, almost as if she was afraid of what she's find inside.

"Are you gonna open it?" Freddie asked, his voice a little shaky from his nerves.

"R-right…"

She tore into the cliché Christmas wrapping paper, covered in snowmen and reindeer. The box underneath was plain, nothing special. Sam looked up at Freddie, and for a moment their eyes met. Then she lifted the lid.

"It's a…"

"…ham. Yeah."

"It's a ham," Sam said again. She lifted the small silver charm out of the box, dragging the delicate chain it was attached to with it.

It was a ham necklace.

"It took me forever to find it, and once I did there wasn't a chain, so I had to find one of those too. I hope you like it. Everyone said I should just get you a real ham, but I wanted it to mean more than that. You know?"

"It's perfect."

Sam sounded as surprised as Freddie felt.

"Really?"

"I…I love it. Will you put it on me?"

Freddie nodded, not trusting his voice, and took the necklace from her. She turned around, and he carefully strung the chain over her head and clasped it behind her, at the back of her neck. He lifted her curls out from under the chain, gently so they didn't get caught. He released them after a moment, and they cascaded perfectly down her back.

When she turned back around they were both smiling.

"It looks good," Freddie whispered.

"Thanks."

Freddie's brain started sending him warning signals. _Say something else you idiot!_

"So," he choked out. "Who were you Santa for?"

"Oh yeah!" Sam dropped her bag onto the floor and started to rifle through it. When she finally emerged she had a hastily wrapped box in the grip.

"Merry Christmas Nub."

Freddie stared at the box, not quite understanding what she meant.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Just take the box, Benson."

"Wait, you're my Secret Santa? What are the odds?"

Sam blushed, something that took Freddie by surprise, and confused him even more.

"Open it, alright?"

Sighing, Freddie opened the box.

It was a coupon. Good for one whole day of "Nice Sam."

Grinning, Freddie looked away from the coupon and at Sam, who was still blushing a bit.

"You made this for me?" he asked her.

She shrugged. "Yeah, it's no big deal."

He let out a small laugh. "I love it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Wow, can you believe that we picked each other for Secret Santa?"

"Well, since I hunted down your old Secret Santa and threatened to cut off her hair if she didn't switch with me, I don't exactly find it all that hard to believe."

Freddie's jaw dropped. Sam never ceased to amaze him. "Did she cry?"

"…Maybe."

Freddie laughed loudly at the mental image.

"Why was it so important to you?" Sam asked him, moving just an inch closer.

Freddie sighed. "You're going to hit me."

"I won't."

For some reason, he believed her.

"I…I like you, Sam. A lot."

"Oh. Good."

"Good?" Freddie asked, dumbstruck.

"Well, yeah. Why else do you think I wanted to be your Secret Santa? Obviously, I like your nerdy self also."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

"Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to kiss you now."

"I think I might just let you."

"Merry Christmas Sam."

"Merry Christmas Freddie."

**So? What do you think of his gift? It took me ages to come up with it, because obviously it needed to be perfect. Let me know what you all thought in a review!**


End file.
